outgrow

[ out-groh ]

/ ˌaʊtˈgroʊ /

verb (used with object), out·grew, out·grown, out·grow·ing.

to grow too large for: to outgrow one's clothes.

to leave behind or lose in the changes incident to development or the passage of time: She outgrew her fear of the dark.

to surpass in growing: watching one child outgrow another.

verb (used without object), out·grew, out·grown, out·grow·ing.

Archaic. to grow out; burst forth; protrude.

Nearby words

outgeneral, outgiving, outgo, outgoing, outgoings, outgrow, outgrowth, outguess, outgun, outhandle, outhaul

Origin of outgrow

First recorded in 1585–95; out- + grow

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for outgrow

I would just say, musically, you just outgrow bands philosophically and politically.
Wyclef Jean Talks Lauryn Hill, the Yele Haiti Controversy, and Chris Christie|Marlow Stern|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And the insertion of technology into clothes raises a host of potential problems: what if you outgrow the shirt?
Is Wearable Technology a Fad or the Future?|Daniel Gross|January 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It takes at least two generations to outgrow the pernicious influence of such circumstances.
Speeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons, Volume 1 (of 3)|Theodore Parker
America did not outgrow this need, and this benefit, in the later days of Washington and Lincoln.
William Bradford of Plymouth|Albert Hale Plumb

It would be wholly impossible if we were never to outgrow our androcentric culture.
Our Androcentric Culture, or The Man Made World|Charlotte Perkins Gilman
It takes an Old World proletarian a long time to outgrow a sense of subserviency.
From the Bottom Up|Alexander Irvine
There is no society, we think, more likely to increase with age, and to outgrow half-witted objection.
The Town|Leigh Hunt

British Dictionary definitions for outgrow

outgrow

/ (ˌaʊtˈɡrəʊ) /

verb -grows, -growing, -grew or -grown (tr)

to grow too large for (clothes, shoes, etc)

to lose (a habit, idea, reputation, etc) in the course of development or time

to grow larger or faster than

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for outgrow

outgrow

1590s, "to surpass in growth," from out + grow (v.). Meaning "to become too large or too mature for" is attested from 1660s. Related: Outgrowing; outgrown.